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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam Citron who wrote (42666)	2/24/2001 8:33:34 PM
From: Jerome	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

But free markets abhor subsidies, A nice concept except that the more developed a country is the more clever they become in hiding subsidies to meet regulations on free trade. At my own peril lets take the US corn crop. A very highly subsidized and government managed crop. Look at some of the subsidies available to the grower of corn. 1) Low interest loans for seed 2) A fertilizer subsidy 3) The gasahol program which subsidizes the purchase of corn to make gasoline 4) Special tax rates for farm land 5) Guaranteed price supports if you jump through the right hoops. 6) We even have a program that will pay you not to grow corn or anything on your land (This is a limited program & is far over suscribed in most counties... waiting list to get on the program) 7)Purchase of gasoline or diesel without payment of road taxes. ( I have never seen this in a third world country) Try telling some of my farmer friends that we have free markets. I believe that third world countries lack the funds for such sophisticated subsidies. Try and figure out to what extent the above mentioned subsidies distort prices? If the American government got out of the Farm subsidy business I belive that the farmer would have an even chance at prosperity. Jerome

To: Sam Citron who wrote (42666)	2/26/2001 11:23:33 AM
From: Pete Young	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Nonetheless there are some great examples of small once poor countries which have exported their way to improved living standards, e.g., Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong. It may be more that a coincidence that most of these countries are Asian, as cultural influences usually play an important role in the process of economic development. Sam, I think in almost every case you cited, protectionism of one kind or another played a central role in the countries ascent from just another cheap source of labor. This was the much ballyhooed "Asian model" of development; protect and capitalize strategic industries using government resources until they were strong enough to "compete" successfully in the global market. Look at semiconductors. Now, however, we see the downfall of the "national champion" industry approach when the macro chickens come to roost when everybody starts to play that game.